Sixth seed Alexander Zverev dug deep on Wednesday as he defeated Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin to advance to the Roland Garros third round.
Safiullin did not show any signs of being overwhelmed on the big stage, but it was Zverev who emerged the victor, 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(1), in what was another intense battle against a player who came through the qualifying stages.
The 24-year-old Zverev is now 20-8 on the season, including two titles at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco (d. Tsitsipas) and the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Berrettini). He will next play a Serbian: Laslo Djere or Miomir Kecmanovic in Paris.
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Zverev, who recovered from two-sets-to-love down against qualifier Oscar Otte on Sunday, was given a stern test in the 60-minute first set. He was broken when serving for the set at 6-5, but got off to a strong start in the tie-break.
Safiullin maintained his self-belief despite losing the opener as he gained an early break for a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Zverev recovered to win the last five games. The Russian was again a break up in the third set, but an ill-advised underarm serve, when facing break point at 4-2, was pounced upon by Zverev, who won the game and took the set in another tie-break.
This is the fifth time that Zverev has reached the third round at Roland Garros, with his best results coming in 2018 and 2019 when he reached the quarter-finals.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/3ibl9Hp
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